Tehran, YJC. Intelligence Minister says the few arrested at nuclear facilities are not saboteurs and have only been stealing iron scrap.

Mahmoud Alavi says that the four arrested roaming illegally about nuclear
facilities are not saboteurs.

The Intelligence Minister said "These four people were not saboteurs. Because
there was iron and steel scrap on the premises of the site, they had stolen
under the 1.5-meter wall stretched around the area, made a hole in the fence
and intended to sell the scrap on the market.”

He added "These people were in fact thieves and not nuclear saboteurs. They
came from the villages in the vicinity of the power plant and had records for
such crimes.”

Alavi stated that the case does not relate to security issues and is not
the province of intelligence, adding that as soon as the status of the case is
made clear, the respective verdict will be issued.

The Head of Iran’s Nuclear Energy Organization Aliakbar Salehi had
previously said that four saboteurs had been arrested while attempting to
damage nuclear facilities.